Case Study
UBC AMS:
Meeting CASL Compliance While Reducing Email Platform Costs
How the Alma Mater Society transitioned from international platforms to a Canadian solution that understands local anti-spam legislation
Key Highlights
The Alma Mater Society (AMS) at the University of British Columbia is a student union providing advocacy, events, food services, and comprehensive support to the student body. The organization:
- 5-person marketing team handling all external communications centrally
- Multiple service areas including advocacy campaigns, events, food & beverage, catering, and conferences
- Large student membership requiring regular email communication about services, events, and organizational updates
- 7-year tenure with Envoke, demonstrating long-term platform satisfaction
Primary Contact: Eric Lowe, Senior Marketing Communications Manager
The Challenge
UBC’s AMS needed a reliable email platform to communicate with their student members, but their existing solutions created significant operational and compliance obstacles.
After initially using MailChimp, the team faced mounting challenges:
- Cost structure misalignment – Pricing based on number of email addresses became expensive for a large university population, with clunky processes for removing graduated students and adding new ones
- CASL compliance gaps – Their second platform, SendinBlue (a France-based provider), didn’t understand Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation, creating friction when uploading lists that weren’t strictly opt-in but were compliant under CASL
- Time zone support delays – Working with a European vendor meant waiting hours for support responses during critical sending windows
- Deliverability concerns – Needed assurance that emails to student members would reach inboxes reliably
“I can’t get opt-in, because I don’t need to, and we’re not sending commercial email,” Lowe explains about the CASL misunderstanding with their previous vendor.
The Solution
After researching what other universities used and discovering UBC’s main campus relied on Envoke, the AMS adopted the platform years ago. The decision prioritized compliance and deliverability over pure cost considerations.
The platform addressed their needs across four key areas:
CASL Compliance Built-In
- Native understanding of Canadian anti-spam legislation
- Support for transactional and organizational emails that don’t require opt-in
- Clear distinction between commercial and non-commercial email requirements
Simplified List Management
- Easy removal of graduated students annually
- Streamlined addition of new student cohorts
- Efficient contact database maintenance without per-contact pricing penalties
Multi-User Access
- Account permissions allowing team members to create campaigns independently
- Elimination of bottlenecks through the marketing manager
- Decentralized email creation when needed by other departments
Reliable Delivery Infrastructure
- Consistent inbox placement for student communications
- Canadian-based servers and support
- Scheduling capabilities for planned sends
The Results
Regulatory Confidence The platform’s Canadian foundation eliminated compliance concerns. “Being a Canadian company, Envoke understood CASL much better than other providers,” Lowe notes. This became the deciding factor—more important than price alone—ensuring the organization could communicate with members without regulatory friction.
Operational Efficiency The ability to manage large contact lists without per-address pricing enabled the team to maintain clean databases. “I’m able to clean up my list easily. Students graduate every year, new students come in, and I need to be able to adjust the list accordingly.”
Team Empowerment Multi-user access removed communication bottlenecks. “Adding accounts to allow other users to use the system is helpful, so I don’t have to make every email, which would just be a needless bottleneck.”
Long-Term Satisfaction After years of working with Envoke, the assessment remains straightforward: “I continue to use Envoke because it works for us.”
"Understanding CASL was the tipping point for us. Envoke's Canadian foundation means we can confidently communicate with our student members without the regulatory friction we experienced with international platforms."
Senior Marketing Communications Manager
UBC AMS
When compliance meets usability, a Canadian platform that understands local legislation eliminates the friction that international providers can’t address—a distinction that becomes more valuable with every email sent.
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